Record attendance on the cards

8 March 2018 16:22

By Simon Rimmer

The world record attendance for a women's international could theoretically be tripled at this Sunday's game which kicks-off at 11.45am - Shona Powell-Hughes facing Italy in the previous double-header encounter in 2012

When Wales take on Italy at Principality Stadium on Sunday the world record attendance for a women's international could be 'blown out of the water'.

The atmosphere for the Women's game would be incredible, we would blow the world record attendance figure out of the water and any queuing issues at the Gates as a result of increased security measures would be significantly abated

The current UK record was set last summer at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup Final at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast, when 17,115 fans watched New Zealand beat England 41-32.

The biggest global attendance is thought to be the 2014 Women's World Cup final when the Stade Jean Bouin sold out its 20,000 seats.*

And France have already sold 15,000 tickets for their Women's Six Nations meeting with England in Grenoble this weekend, which has a capacity of 20,000.

But more than three-times this amount of fans hold a ticket for Sunday's Wales women clash with the Azzurri in Cardiff, with the game marketed as a double-header contest to be swiftly followed by Wales' NatWest 6 Nations fourth round meeting with Italy.

Principality Stadium bosses have issued repeated warnings to supporters to turn up in good time for the game, with new security measures and full searches at turnstiles meaning entry now takes longer.

Gates open on Sunday at 11.30am and, if advice is heeded, it is highly likely that at the very least a new record for a Wales' women's home game will be set (top estimates would have this figure at 4,113, set against England at Cardiff Arms Park last year).

But with the added incentive of the Wales Women's Six Nations international to take in - which kicks-off at 11.45am - at the end of International Women's week, on Mother's Day, and with a new world record on the table, supporters could be inspired to create a new piece of Welsh rugby history.

"If you look at the ticketing map for access to the stadium, there could be 5,000 fans in by the time the Women's game kicks-off at 11.45am on a normal day," said Principality Stadium manager Mark Williams.

"By half-time, at 12.30 we would hope to more than doubled that number in order to ensure all supporters get into the ground in time for kick-off and the anthems ahead of match two.

"The men's teams come out to warm-up from around 2pm and a lot of fans like to be in their seats to show their support and help to build that unique Six Nations atmosphere that we all know and love.

"But it would be magnificent for us from a logistical and safety and security point of view if the nation turned up to show their support for the Wales Women's side in a similar way.

"It would not be inconceivable to get 24,000 fans into the stadium within the first hour of opening.

"The atmosphere for the Women's game would be incredible, we would blow the world record attendance figure out of the water and any queuing issues at the Gates as a result of increased security measures would be significantly abated."

Sioned Harries and Caryl Thomas are the two survivors from the Wales Women starting line-up from the last time played at the national ground, in 2012 (Megan York started from the bench in that game and is a replacement once again) - this game was played after the men's fixture with a small crowd remaining in their seats to watch the second match on this occasion.

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